


Soulmates

by masulevin



Series: Artemis & Apollo Ryder - MEA [5]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Custom Female Ryder | Sara, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 14:25:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13766052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masulevin/pseuds/masulevin
Summary: The soulmates AU I wrote for Leather & Lace Week. Humans are born seeing shades of gray and only being seeing true colors when they find their soulmates. Artemis and Apollo leave for Andromeda still seeing gray, full of hope for their futures in the new galaxy.





	Soulmates

Humans are  _adaptable_. That’s what makes them so strong. They can learn to live with almost anything given the right motivation. Most of them are so used to seeing in shades of gray that they don’t even consider the fact that out there, somewhere in the universe, is a person whose existence will change everything. There’s a person – not necessarily a human, not in these times after the mass relays have been discovered – out there that will make them truly  _see._

When Alec suggests that Artemis and Apollo join up with the Andromeda Initiative, become part of his Pathfinder team, travel 600 light years and explore a whole new galaxy, they both agree right away. They still see in shades of gray, but their dad does too again, ever since Ellen died.

Together, they’ll find their way in a new galaxy, with new people, with new things to explore. Even if they won’t be able to see the color of the sky or the new plants… they’ll be together. They’ll be a  _family_.

—

When Artemis and Liam crashland onto Habitat 7 and she almost dies, she doesn’t even think about the fact that her omnitool should be orange as it seals the cracks in her helmet. She doesn’t think about the fact that the sky is gray and the grass is a darker, different shade of gray, or that Liam’s eyes are such a dark gray they’re almost black.

Humans are adaptable. They  _survive,_ and they find the rest of their party, and Artemis teases Harry about being too old and helps Cora with her biotic barrier to keep them safe.

The world gets just that much darker when Alec rips his own helmet off of his face and snaps it onto Artemis’ suit. He smiles at her, speaking words she can’t hear over the roaring of her blood in her ears, and presses a kiss to the top of the helmet.

The grays fade to black, and she sleeps.

—

The Nexus is dark, but it’s beautiful in its own way. Tendrils of the scourge float outside the viewports, shimmering in the otherwise darkness of space. Artemis wonders what color it truly is, then dismisses the thought as soon as it appears.

She visits Pol in the medbay before she leaves, brushing his hair back into place and holding his hand and telling him that she’s looking for their home and she’ll be back as soon as she can.

He doesn’t respond.

She meets more of her crew loading up onto the Tempest, a tall and beautiful turian who bribes her way onto the ship, the engineer who looks like he’s exactly Pol’s type, the salarian pilot, and…

_Oh._

The science officer for the Tempest is the most beautiful woman Artemis has ever seen, smile bright and hair swinging lightly around her chin. Suvi’s grin grows when she sees Artemis, and she  _winks_ , and then her accent makes Artemis’ face turn an embarrassing shade of pink.

—

Artemis takes to hanging out for a few minutes each day on the flight deck, leaning against the low wall and chatting with Suvi. The scientist is sweet, and she’s so passionate about everything she sets her mind to, filling Artemis in on every question Artemis can think to ask.

Kallo hates it, but Artemis doesn’t care. It’s been a long time – it’s been  _years_ since she found someone she can talk to like this, someone she  _wants_ to talk to like this, someone she can listen to talk about things she doesn’t even understand and just… love every second of it.

She sends little messages to Pol while he’s sleeping, keeping him updated about what’s happening in Heleus and the kinds of people she’s meeting – including all of the guys she thinks he might like: the engineer on her ship, the mercenary on Eos, the smuggler on Kadara who shares his whiskey with her. It helps her feel like he’s closer than he is, even though he can’t respond.

He’ll see her messages when he wakes up, and maybe it will help him feel less left out when he finally joins her.

She can still hear his advice, though, echoing in the back of her mind like it always has, the same words he’s always told her when she’s agonized over a crush who was out of her league.  _Just ask_  he’d say.  _You never know until you try. You’re making this a bigger deal than it really is, Missy. Just ask._

It’s just so hard to just ask.

—

It takes physical contact to solidify the bond between soulmates. With the uniforms of the Initiative all including gloves – probably purposefully, to avoid distractions – it takes a long time for people newly together in Andromeda to discover each other.

It’s always seems…  _impolite_  somehow to initiate skin-to-skin contact with a stranger just because you’re hoping they might be the one for you, or out of idle curiosity. Not everyone wants to know. Not everyone has one, after all.

Why rub it in?

It takes all of Artemis’ resolve not to broach the subject with Suvi when they’re chatting about Heleus, about the scourge, about their families, about what they wanted for their futures when they signed up for the Initiative, what their dreams are for after the kett are ousted from the cluster.

It takes an absurd amount of concentration – so much so that SAM broaches the topic once when Artemis is alone to ask about her relationship with Suvi – to keep from ripping her own gloves off and taking Suvi’s beautiful face and kissing her the way she deserves to be kissed.

They’re sharing tea in Artemis’ room when her control finally wears thin and snaps. Suvi is gazing at her, a soft smile on her face, talking about the things she misses from the Milky Way, about how she misses her family and…

“Suvi, the threads you followed led you here to me. How could that be a mistake?”

Suvi blushes, her eyes darting away only to immediately return to meet Artemis’ gaze. “Out of everything I’ve encountered in Heleus, you… are by  _far_  my favorite.”

Artemis’ heart jumps to her throat and she closes the distance between them, hesitation only when her hand meets the curve of Suvi’s waist. “Suvi, I…” Her gaze slips to Suvi’s lips, her desire clear.

“Don’t do this to me,” Suvi breathes, eyes on Artemis’ lips as well. She takes Artemis’ free hand in one of her gloved ones, rubbing her thumb over leather-covered knuckles. “Not unless you really mean it.”

 _Don’t do this._ Don’t put her hopes out there, not unless she really wants to find out if they’re soulmates, not unless she’s prepared to deal with the fallout if they  _are_ or are  _not._

“I know,” she breathes, stepping just that much closer, “and I’m serious. Serious about  _us_.” She leans in, eyes still locked on Suvi’s, and waits until she nods her assent and starts to lean in too.

Their lips brush together as Suvi closes the last of the distance between them, a soft touching that makes Artemis shiver and drop Suvi’s hand to wrap around her waist instead. Suvi lifts her hands to Artemis’ face, pulling her even closer for another kiss, and then another, and  _another_.

When they finally break apart for air, Artemis rests her forehead against Suvi’s, the two women just breathing together for a moment before either of them works up the courage to open their eyes to see if their world has changed or if things will continue the way they were.

“Oh,  _Suvi_ …” Artemis, the explorer, the one who takes brave steps onto new worlds, is the first one to really  _see_. There’s so much  _more_  now. The red of Suvi’s hair, the warm brown of her skin, the pink of her lips, the blue of her eyes when she finally opens them to gaze back in wonder. “ _Suvi._ ”

Suvi’s delighted little giggle makes Artemis’ heart clench. “Your eyes are green.”

“Yeah. You’re beautiful, Suvi.”

Suvi blushes – turns pink! – and bends down to hide her face in the crook of Artemis’ neck. “I’m so happy it was you.”

Artemis buries her nose in Suvi’s hair, unable to stop smiling and unwilling to release Suvi now that she finally has her, until a sudden thought makes her giggle. “Hey, the Heleus plants are going to be much more fun now that you can really see them, won’t they?”

“Oh!” Suvi pulls away, eyes brighter than they had been before, a wide grin that Artemis easily recognizes from their many many long talks about Suvi’s studies. “You’re right! Come with me, I want you to see it too!”

Suvi grabs Artemis’ hand and pulls, and Artemis – as always – can’t help but to follow.


End file.
